Crushed Rose
by jaderaid
Summary: Before Demyx became a Nobody, his name was Mey'd, and he was in love with a woman named Larxene. This is the story of how Demyx became a Nobody. First KH fic, summery sucks. Oneshot


_Crushed Rose_

_by Jade Rhade_

Prelude 

"_Do you remember your true name?"_

_Two cloaked figures stood on the edge of a vast sea, bordered by a black-sand beach stretching as far as could be seen. The white moonlight reflecting off the waves was the only illumination, and showed that no one else was near. Why would there be? This realm existed in Darkness._

_The one who had spoken had his hood down, revealing a thick mane of silver hair around his shoulders, accentuated by the light from the moon. His voice was given to being melodramatic at times, but now it was cold. Calculating. Almost as if ready to lash out were the wrong answer to be given to his question._

_The other man had his hood up, masking his face. His hands were at his sides, clenched into trembling fists. "Larxene..." he hissed, gazing out over the ocean known simply as the Sea Between Worlds._

_The first man shot the other a sharp glance, then realized that the poisonous exhalation had nothing to do with his query. "Your name is Demyx. It's best you remember that."_

"_I'm not like you, Xemnas," Demyx said, fists shaking with emotion. "I_ _have_ _a heart."_

"_Not anymore." Xemnas opened a pathway through darkness and vanished._

_Demyx did not acknowledge his new superior's departure, gazing up at the moon. "Larxene..." he whispered._

-xXx-

"Larxene!" a young man shouted, shouldering his way through the press of people toward the head of blonde hair he had seen. "Larxene!" He bashed someone with the sitar case he had slung across his back. "Oh! Sorry!"

"Watch it, punk!" someone yelled, but Mey'd paid no attention.

"Hi," he said breathlessly, coming to a stop in front of the blonde woman.

"Hi yourself," she replied, a smile growing on her beautiful face. "I didn't think you'd come."

"What, you think I came to see you?" Mey'd crossed his arms and looked away toward the bustling crowd of people and vendors surrounding them. "I came for the fair."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose I'll go home, seeing as how I'm not wanted..." Larxene mock-glared and made to leave.

Mey'd's eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrist. "No, don't go!"

She turned and smirked, and with a flush of embarrassment, Mey'd realized that she was never intending to leave. "Come on," she said, wrapping her fingers around his and tugging gently on his hand. "I saw a shop I wanted to go to. You can buy me something pretty."

"Oh really?" he grinned and allowed her to pull him through the crowd without resistance.

-xXx-

High above on a rooftop, two black-cloaked, hooded men stood and observed the fair below- more importantly, the path of Mey'd and Larxene.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think she had a heart," one said casually, lowering his hood and taking a bite of blue sea-salt ice cream. His shock of red hair and emerald green eyes marked him as none other than the Flurry of Dancing Flames- Axel.

"Where did you get that?" the other hooded figure asked. Saïx's emotionless monotone and X-shaped scar made him easily distinguishable as the Luna Diviner. Both were members of the Organization. Both were Nobodies- their hearts had been taken from them, leaving them an empty shell, unable to feel emotion. But they could remember what it was like- _that's_ what makes them special. That, and the fact that they were willing to throw the worlds into total chaos to achieve their goal of getting a heart.

"I got it down there," he replied through a mouthful of ice cream. "It's pretty good."

Saïx shook his head and returned his attention to the square. "Why do you think she persists in this ridiculous charade?" he murmured softly. "She cannot feel... desire."

"Nye fink-" Axel started, then swallowed. "Sorry. I think she enjoys making humans want her, knowing that she can only break their pathetic hearts. She enjoys causing pain."

"Hmm."

"Not to mention the fools often buy her whatever she asks for." Axel held out his popsicle. "Want some?"

"No."

-xXx-

"Where is the Savage Nymph?" Xemnas' haughty voice easily filled the small white room where the members of the Organization were gathered.

The other nine members of the Organization looked at each other, as if mentally choosing who would be the one to speak. Xemnas, Axel, Luxord, Marluxia, Saïx, Xaldin, Xigbar, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion sat around a table embossed with their symbol. There was one empty seat.

"She's not here," Xigbar finally ventured after an uncomfortable silence.

"I realized that, thank you." Xemnas held out a hand. "Do you mean to tell me, that though we have vast resources at our disposal, and almost limitless information, _none of you know where Larxene is?_"

Axel grinned, about to say something highly sarcastic, but immediately thought better of it and adopted a look of proper consternation.

And none too soon, as the Superior pointed to Saïx and Axel. "You two were with her last."

"That was over a month ago," Axel pointed out. "She may very well have-"

Zexion raised his hand to stop conversation and sniffed, sensing the presence of darkness with his peculiar talent. "She comes," he said.

Axel breathed a sigh of relief; Saïx, not one for showing emotion, remained exactly as he was.

"You are late," Xemnas announced as Larxene stepped through the portal of darkness.

"Well, excuse me for not being _dressed_ when your all-powerful _summons_ came!" she snapped. Her blonde hair was disheveled, and her black robes slightly skewed.

"You will address me with respect!" Xemnas thundered, standing and pointing furiously.

Larxene visibly swallowed a retort and inclined her head. "My apologies, Superior."

"Take a seat."

She stalked over to the only remaining empty chair and sat. Axel caught a whiff of her hair as she passed and frowned. Something about that smell... He mentally shrugged as the Superior began to speak, but despite his best efforts, his mind began to wander.

"_Blah blah _Kingdom Hearts_ blah blah_ Dusks_ blah blah _Keyblade _blah_ Heartless_ blah_..." the usual.

_What was that smell?_ Axel absent-mindedly started drumming his fingers against the table. _I smelled it once before in... Oh, where was it?_ He caught Saïx giving him a severe look and stopped tapping the table, choosing to instead lean his chair on his back legs. _Saïx, you're the only one who listens to Xemnas babble on and on anyway. 'Kingdom Hearts' this, 'Kingdom Hearts' that. Sheesh, that guy's like a broken record or something. And that smell... it's very distracting. It smells like-_

_Sex?_ His emerald eyes widened and his chair slammed down on all four legs with a resounding thud. Axel didn't even notice the glare Saïx shot him, watching Larxene closely, noting her flushed cheeks and her efforts to keep her breathing under control. _Well, that's interesting._

"_Blah blah _more hearts_ blah blah blah _Larxene."

Axel looked up as Xemnas changed his cadence. _Wait. Did he just say...?_

"Why were you unable to attend this meeting on time?" Xemnas asked calmly.

"I was... otherwise engaged."

_I'm sure you were,_ Axel thought with a raised eyebrow, resisting the urge to smirk.

"Not only that, but you have been gone for the past month without reporting in. I'm starting to have doubts about your loyalty, Larxene. Your plaything seems to be taking up an inordinate amount of time."

Larxene remained silent, face unreadable.

"Make sure you know where your true loyalties lie."

"Of course," she responded coolly.

"You're all dismissed." Xemnas held out a hand. "Except you two; Axel and Saïx. I want to speak with you."

_Crap._ In his mind, Axel went through all the things he could possibly have done since the last meeting, but came up blank as the others disappeared.

"What is your opinion of Larxene?" Xemnas asked, sitting down and folding his hands on the table.

"Her... distraction... does not seem to be causing any harm," Saïx answered, choosing his words carefully.

"I don't like her having commitments outside of the Organization. Rectify it. Both of you."

-xXx-

"How is ice cream rectifying the problem?" Saïx asked.

Axel shrugged. "You sure you don't want some?"

"Yes."

"Why are we spying on Larxene in the first place? From the top of an apartment building, no less."

"We need to determine whether Mey'd is distracting her from her duties as a member of the Organization."

"Why?"

"Because the Superior ordered us to."

"Why?"

"You are exceedingly annoying."

"That was actually a serious question," Axel said as he finished his sea-salt ice cream. "Why does Xemnas care?"

"I... don't know." Saïx sounded almost surprised.

"See, you need to think about these things," he pointed the popsicle stick at Saïx, "instead of blindly following orders."

"You think too much."

"You don't think enough."

"I am tempted to throw you off this building."

"Are you running out of retorts? I could do this all day."

"Shut up." He paused. "What exactly are they doing?"

"You really are naïve, aren't you?"

Saïx crossed his arms and didn't answer.

-xXx-

Axel had counted all the people in the town square below, amused himself by picking out Heartless-shaped clouds, bought three more ice creams, and still Saïx did not seem ready to leave the roof. And it had been over an hour.

"I'm getting a tan here!" Axel complained, lying flat on the rooftop and noticing a cloud shaped like a Dusk.

Saïx didn't answer, and the other Nobody thought about poking him to make sure he was alive.

"I'm going to start braiding my hair like Xaldin!" he threatened.

Saïx blinked.

Axel gave up and returned his attention to the clouds, which were infinitely more interesting than his companion. "Talk about emotionless stiffs," he muttered under his breath.

A half-hour went by. Axel had flipped over onto his stomach, making the observation that there were only three people in the entire town wearing red.

"What do you think would happen if someone were to drown in the Sea Between Worlds?" Saïx asked eventually.

There was no answer. Axel had fallen asleep and was snoring softly.

Saïx jabbed him hard in the side with his boot. "Get up."

"I wasn't asleep." He yawned broadly and stretched, squinting up at the sky. "I was contemplating the mysteries of the heart."

"You don't have one."

"Which is why it's a mystery!" Axel grinned triumphantly.

"You are an idiot."

"With the company I keep, that's not surprising."

Saïx narrowed his eyes, suspecting that he'd just been insulted. "What would happen if someone were to drown in the Sea Between Worlds?" he repeated.

"They'd... drown?" Axel suggested, raising his eyebrows in a 'well-duh' expression, then paused. "Wait. You're not thinking about drowning Mey'd in the Sea Between Worlds, are you?"

Saïx almost smiled. Almost. "It would rectify the problem... while providing an answer to a question of mine."

Axel got up and slapped Saïx on the shoulder. "And here I was thinking you had no imagination. Let's go get some ice cream!"

"No."

-xXx-

Unknown to the two Nobodies, Larxene was watching them from behind a chimney.

-xXx-

Axel had moved from being bored on the rooftop to being bored sitting on his bed in his room. He absent-mindedly tossed one of his chakrams into the air and caught it. Maybe he'd go bother Saïx later. That was always fun.

_Flick, catch. Flick, catch. Flick-_

_Huh?_ he blinked as a slender hand shot into his vision and snatched the weapon from midair.

Larxene slinked fully into view, a smug smile gracing her features as she twirled the chakram on one delicate finger. "You're slowing down, _Flurry of Dancing Flames_," she mocked. "You must be getting old."

Axel matched her grin and dismissed the weapon with a thought, raising an eyebrow.

She pouted and crawled onto the bed next to him. "You're no fun."

"I'm sorry, that title has already been claimed by Saïx," he replied casually, sliding over to make room. After a few moments silence, she spoke:

"Axel..." she said slowly. "We are... friends, yes?"

"Insofar as a Nobody can _have_ friends, seeing as how don't technically have _emotions_..." He narrowed his eyes as she looked down.

"Saïx did not tell you his theory on drowning a human in the Sea Between Worlds. He and Vexen have been working on it."

"Oh?"

"They think it will turn a human into a Heartless." She met his eyes. "Tell me, my friend... why does Saïx want to turn Mey'd into a Heartless?"

"You're the sadistic 'Savage Nymph'," he pointed out. "Can't you see the logic in that yourself? In his mind, all Saïx is doing is following orders."

It was her turn for eyes to narrow. "What do you mean, 'orders'?"

_Oops_. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." Axel offered a smile, but Larxene was having none of it.

A slender yellow knife appeared between her fingers. "What do you mean, 'orders'?" she repeated dangerously.

_Uh-oh... shouldn't have said that._ After thinking it over, Axel decided to tell the truth. After all, neither Xemnas nor Saïx had ordered him to keep his mouth shut. And who knows- maybe he'd need Larxene on his side one of these days. "Xemnas... ordered Saïx to 'rectify' the issue of Mey'd." He purposefully left himself out of the sentence.

"And why were you plotting with Saïx? I heard everything."

_Damn_. "Xemnas ordered both of us to come up with a solution," he added reluctantly.

The knife disappeared. "I see." She sounded regretful.

"Don't you think that you're putting a lot of time into a human who will have to be killed?" Axel ventured, as neither of them had said anything for some time.

Larxene sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "In the space where your heart was," she touched her breast where a heart would have been, had she had one; "you can remember humor and happiness. I could only remember pain and suffering. When I'm with Mey'd, it's almost as if I can feel..." she trailed off and shook her head briskly, brushing Axel's face with her blonde locks. "Never mind." She stood and opened a portal of darkness. "Give me a few more days with him. Then I promise I'll help you and Saïx dispose of him."

"All right," he was surprised to find himself agreeing. "I'll try and delay Saïx."

Larxene smiled softly. "I hope you find someone who helps you remember what it was like to have a heart," she said quietly, then stepped through.

Axel laughed, even though she was not there to hear him. "I don't need anyone to remember," he said to the empty room.

But even to his own ears, his words sounded bitter.

-xXx-

Mey'd had no way of knowing that his lover was plotting his death. He had no idea that he was about to die. He was buying a rose for Larxene, his black sitar case slung casually across his back.

"Let's see here..." he was perusing a chart that explained the different meanings behind the colors of a rose. "Definitely not white for 'purity and innocence'," he smirked to himself. Larxene was _anything_ but pure and innocent. "Dark red- 'unconscious beauty'... no, I'm sure she's very conscious of her beauty... Mmm... This is hard. Coral for desire, maybe?"

"Hurry it up, buddy!" the shopkeeper shouted from behind the counter. "I usually close shop ten minutes ago!" He looked out the shop window, where one could see the sun setting over the horizon.

"Give me a second, please!" Mey'd held up one finger without turning. "Red is too cliché," he murmured. "Ah, she probably won't know what they mean." He shrugged and closed his eyes, picking out one at random. "White." He regarded the single rose in his hand and blinked. "Okay. Purity and innocence it is."

He laid the flower gently on the counter. "I'd like to buy this one."

"Ya want the thorns cut off?"

Mey'd shook his head. "Just wrap around them with this, please," he picked out a spool of bright coral-hued ribbon and handed it to the shopkeeper.

-xXx-

"Saïx!" Axel jogged after him down the hall. "What do you mean, tonight?"

"I thought I made that clear," he answered, stopping without turning. Vexen looked up and blinked, lowering the clipboard he and Saïx had been perusing. "There is no reason to wait longer in the carrying out of our orders."

"Can't we do it tomorrow, at least?"

"No. Tonight."

"All right. I'll be there."

"That is not necessary," Vexen interjected.

"I'm interested in the result," Axel countered.

"Fine," Saïx replied. "I shall go to Larxene now." He opened a portal of darkness and disappeared, leaving Axel alone in the hall with the 'Chilly Academic'.

"You'll be there?" he asked.

Vexen shook his head. "I have other things to take care of." He inclined his head once to Axel, then went through his own darkness-portal.

Axel's lips twitched, and he looked at the spot where from which Saïx had disappeared. "Sorry, Larxene," he muttered.

-xXx-

To all appearances, nothing was wrong as Mey'd and Larxene walked down the street hand in hand. The streetlamps hadn't yet been lit, and the last rays of the sun illuminated the scene with a rich golden glow.

All seemed right with the world.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Larxene caught a glimpse of a man wearing the Organization cloak standing in an alley. As she watched, he deliberately pulled his hood down and shook his ice-blue hair free, staring directly at her. Saïx.

She quickly looked away, not wanting Mey'd to see him, and instinctively tightened her grip on his hand.

"Oh!" Mey'd stopped walking and released her hand, pulling something from his coat pocket. It was the white rose, wrapped with a coral ribbon. "Here," he said simply. "This is for you."

Her eyes sparkled with tears as she took it. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Hey," he looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

Larxene wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him desperately, knowing this would be the last time she would get the opportunity. "I'm sorry," she breathed in his ear, feeling a single tear trickle down the side of her face.

Mey'd looked at her strangely, his mouth open to ask why.

But he never got the chance.

Faster than blinking, Larxene brought her right hand up in a ridgehand to the temple. Unconsciousness was immediate, and he collapsed, still looking confused.

She grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into the alley where Saïx was waiting. "Here," she said bitterly, wiping away the tear with the back of her hand and dropping her lover's unconscious body to the cobblestones. "Do what you will."

-xXx-

Axel, Saïx, and Larxene stood on the edge of the Sea Between Worlds, with Mey'd's limp body unceremoniously lying on the black sand beach. The three Nobodies were garbed in their dark cloaks with the hoods up; the soft sea breeze blowing a wisp of Larxene's golden hair across her face.

"You will take him out several miles into the water by stepping through a portal of darkness," Saïx told Larxene. Obviously he had put some thought into this. "And simply drop him in. The weight of his sitar will drag him down, and the Heartless in the water ensure that he cannot survive long enough to reach shore."

"Very well," she replied coldly, kneeling down next to the man who had once been her lover. She pulled the rose he had given her from the inside of her robe and tucked it into his shirt. "A white rose," she whispered softly, so neither Axel nor Saïx could hear her. "A symbol of happy love, or of innocence and purity. A coral-colored ribbon for desire. Another time, another place, we could have been happy together, Mey'd. But this is the fate of a human; your heart led you to me, and ultimately- to destruction. Farewell, my lover."

She stood and flicked her fingers, opening a portal and dragging Mey'd into it. They both disappeared.

"Will she do it?" Saïx asked.

Axel nodded once. "No matter what she thought she felt, she is still Larxene. She is still a Nobody. And, above all, she still enjoys inflicting pain."

-xXx-

_Easy enough_, Larxene thought as she dropped his limp body into the ocean. She was preparing to step back into darkness when a startled gasp forced her to turn.

The shock of the icy cold water had roused Mey'd, and he grabbed at the only thing in reach- Larxene's ankle. With her concentration broke, she lost her hold on the darkness and splashed into the water. "Damn you!" she screamed, kicking out.

The kick was unnecessary, as Mey'd released her himself. "Larxene?" He frantically tried to tread water.

With a spike of fear, Larxene realized that her hood had fallen down around her shoulders, then she dismissed the feeling. "Yes, it's me. Your sweet little Larxene." She smiled sweetly, treading water with ease.

"What... what are you doing?" Mey'd bright cerulean eyes were wide with fear and betrayal. "Why?"

She blew him one last kiss and disappeared into darkness.

"Larxene!" Mey'd cried, flailing desperately, feeling himself sinking. "_Larxene!_" And then he had time for one more breath before he slipped beneath the surface.

The weight of his sitar was pulling him down fast. Mey'd frantically tried to undo the straps, but the pressure of the water was pushing it down hard, and try as he might, he couldn't loosen the straps.

He was sinking ever faster, tears of fear and betrayal mixing with the salty water of the Sea Between Worlds. He futilely reached up, as if someone would take his hand and lift him up...

...but no one came.

The last thing Mey'd saw, as spots were dancing in front of his vision and his lungs felt as if made of fire, was a swarm of black creatures with glowing eyes swimming toward him.

The last thing Mey'd saw was his heart, floating gently up toward the surface he could not reach...

-xXx-

Axel and Saïx watched as Larxene, sopping wet, emerged from a portal of darkness.

"Trouble?" Saïx asked dryly.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she replied, wringing out her hair.

Axel squinted out toward the horizon, catching a glimpse of a black creature skimming the water with impossible speed. "Uh-oh."

Mey'd's Heartless leapt into the air, the Shadow ready to attack- but fell backward and disintegrated with a yellow-hued knife through its throat.

Larxene lowered her hand. "It's finished, then," she whispered, then she and Saïx stepped through a portal and vanished.

Axel made to follow them when something else caught his eye, and he paused.

Drifting slowly, ominously toward shore was the body of Mey'd. Unwilling, or simply unable, to look away, he watched it draw ever nearer until it bumped gently against the sand.

"You poor bastard," Axel murmured, shaking his head. He was about to look away, but stopped and looked closer.

Mey'd was still alive, and even as Axel watched in shock, he rolled over onto his hands and knees, vomiting water.

_Impossible!_ his mind shouted. _Larxene just killed the Heartless, which would mean that this..._

_A_ Nobody 

Against all better judgement, Axel knelt down and removed his hood, observing him with a sense of wonder.

The Nobody who had formerly been known as Mey'd was on his hands and knees, coughing violently in an effort to rid the water from his lungs. His dark brown hair had shifted a few shades lighter, and his eyes had shifted from bright cerulean blue to an almost jade color. After the worst of the coughing had passed, he looked up and met Axel's gaze, breathing heavily.

At a loss, Axel held out his hand. "Welcome to the Organization, kid," he said simply.

-xXx-

_Demyx stood on the edge of the Sea Between Worlds, the ocean in which he should have died- the ocean where he _did_ die. Where he had been murdered by the love of his young life- Larxene. And now, he saw her every day. Even when he didn't see her, he could feel her presence in the jagged hole where his heart had been, like an open wound someone was constantly filling with salt._

_He unclenched his fists and knelt down on the wet sand, seeing something being slowly pushed into shore by the tide. Demyx reached out and scooped it from the water, cradling it gently with both hands._

_It was the rose he had given to Larxene. Despite his best efforts, he could feel his eyes filling up with tears and spilling down his cheeks. That deep sorrow quickly turned to fierce anger, and Demyx clenched his fists again._

_The white petals were crushed in his right hand, the juice staining his gloves. His left hand, however, crushed the stem. The thorns pierced the coral ribbon with ease and sliced through his thin glove to the skin below. Black shadow leaked from his palm and dripped down his arm._

_His innocence was crushed, and his desire cut through his skin easier than a knife._

_This is how it feels to be Demyx._

_Constantly in denial of his own nonexistence._

_Forever..._

End

**A/N: This is my first _Kingdom Hearts_ fanfiction, and I may possibly submit it for grading as my English midterm. Please review and tell me what you think! If you have any ideas or corrections, feel free to e-mail or IM me (info is in my profile), or just drop me a private message. Since this may possibly be graded as my midterm, don't pull any punches regarding constructive criticism. Flamers- don't bother.**

**A HUGE thank-you is extended to one of my best friends- i AM the Random Idiot, who put up with late-night phone calls of me going: "Are they in character? How would respond in this kind of situation?" Thanks for all the help, I owe you big time! (and I know you told me to upload this as a several-chapter story... I didn't want to. Saw-dee!)**

-_Jade Rhade_


End file.
